A Conversation With Our Newest Team Member

by Danna Pentes

We’re at it again! The Eden Alternative® is growing and changing. Not only did we launch Eden Membership, but we’ve also added a Project Coordinator. Welcome Tina Taylor! Thank you for your thoughtful responses so we can all get to know you.

What led you to The Eden Alternative^®?

I have been volunteering and working in elder care for about 20 years, since I was a teenager, but my first full time job was at a community in Denver that was really committed to person directed care and The Eden Alternative. I attended Eden training a few weeks after starting and it was transformational. My background is in Recreation Therapy, so I really resonated with the principles. I have been able to work in some great communities since then doing a variety of different things, and while the roles have changed the commitment to person-directed care has not. 

I have worked with Pay for Performance, developing and implementing grant funded programs, and then more recently after moving to California I became a licensed RCFE Administrator and helped to open up a new assisted living community as the Resident Services Director. I am also an Eden Educator. 

I am really excited to be able to bring some of that knowledge and experience to my role here at The Eden Alternative

What’s your superpower? Name one strength you look forward to sharing through this new role.

My superpower is enthusiasm. I am genuinely enthusiastic about The Eden Alternative and person-directed care! I am also so excited for others who are bringing Eden and person-directed care to their communities. I will be your biggest cheerleader! And can’t wait to celebrate with you! 

What excites or inspires you about The Eden Alternative^®?

It is exciting the way The Eden Alternative challenges us. It causes us to ask questions about what we know, what and how we do things, what part we play in our own story and the story of elders. Eden gives the tools to politely raise just the right amount of hell to stop living in the box of a model of care that just hasn’t been working and never will, and instead to see that there is something so much greater, so much bigger, and so much better for elders and care partners. It truly is how it ought to be. 

What is your most cherished simple pleasure? 

One of my most cherished simple pleasures is Friday night dinner at our house. On Fridays we make a big charcuterie board for dinner. It is somehow equal parts fancy and relaxed. We have a few favorite cheeses that consistently make an appearance on the board. We also pile up the board with French bread, and meat, and apples, and al rosemary and olive oil almonds — really all the major food groups and we have a glass of wine. It is delightful. 

What is your role at The Eden Alternative?

My role is as the Project Coordinator. I am still learning certain aspects of my role, but one part   that I am really excited about is to be partnering with the amazing Eden Educators. I am looking forward to connecting with them and supporting them as they continue to facilitate trainings in their communities.

More from Tina . . .

• I share my home office with Sally, our 13-year-old Bichon- she does sleep on the job, but I am okay with it. 
• I am so excited about all the changes happening at Eden.  There is so much positive change that comes with the new Membership model and the Tracks and Practices. I think at times it could be overwhelming looking at the path to mastery, but the Eden Tracks & Practices are an exciting way to identify specific goals as a neighborhood or community and be able to bite off a more manageable piece that works for your community and their needs. The added bonus is that as you use the Eden Tracks & Practices on Eden Navigator it can also be used to maintain aspects of QAPI, or pieces of statewide value-based payer programs or a community performance improvement plan. It has a lot of potential which I think is neat.